Put a Little Mustard On It

I did some grocery shopping on the way home from work today. I made my way through the produce department looking for something different. You could say that I found it. Mustard greens.

I have never had mustard greens. It isn't because I thought that they would taste icky, but more because I had never thought about it. I looked at them and they looked fresh and crisp. A small bite of a leaf gave me a decidedly peppery flavor -- somewhat like green cabbage hearts. I didn't know how to cook mustard greens, but I knew Google would!

Rich in vitamins C and A, mustard greens are related to spinach, collard greens and kale. They are purported to lower cholesterol and are rich in glucosinolates -- a cancer preventative. Different varieties are grown in all parts of the world and are featured in many types of cultural cooking.

I found a recipe on Simply Recipes that I thought would suffice and began preparations. I noticed right away that the greens were pretty covered with sandy grit. So I rinsed the greens and let them soak in the sink, swishing them to remove the silt.

While the greens were soaking, I sliced the onions in thin slices and began heating the olive oil in a pan. Following the recipe, I sauteed the onions and garlic and added a few table spoons of homemade chicken stock. When the onions had become translucent, I added the piles of mustard greens that had been cut into rather large pieces.

I did not use the sesame oil due to allergies but this dish was pretty good. I only cooked the greens just past wilted stage. So they were still pretty crisp. The DH said he liked them -- better than spinach. I thought they had a bright, fresh taste. I imagine that if you cooked the devil out of them with a couple of pieces of bacon they could be that much better! All in all, I think I just added another vegetable to the rotation.

Happy cooking!